AN UNEMPLOYED teenager who was part of a gang which attacked two schoolboys has persistently failed to stick to the terms of punishment, a court has heard.

Joshua Brown was one of a group of 15 teens who set upon the terrified youngsters in Craddocks Parade, Ashtead, and then chased and viciously beat them, leaving one needing stitches to his forehead.

Nine youngsters were arrested after the assault, which took place in October 2008. But Brown, then 18, and a 17-year-old who cannot be named because of his age, were the only two charged.

The younger of the two was given an 18-month community order after admitting his responsibility, and Brown was given a 12-month order when he pleaded guilty to affray less than a week before his trial at Guildford Crown Court.

He appeared at the same court on Thursday (December 23), the third time he has been called back for breaching the order following his original sentencing in February.

The order to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work was extended by a further 14 hours, and then 20 hours, after his previous breaches.

Judge Peter Moss had warned him in September that further breaches would inevitably mean a prison sentence, but instead he dealt with them by changing Brown’s unpaid work order to a curfew requirement.

The Epsom man, now 19, accepted he failed to attend a session on October 16 and then disrupted another on October 23.

Probation officer Jan West said his attitude and reluctance to work caused concern on the latter occasion.

“He would appear to work when the supervisor was present and was watching him,” she added. “There were other not pleasant references to staff.”

Brown, who received a reprimand for his only other offence of battery in November 2008, has completed 106 hours, leaving 78 left to work.

Jonathan Atkinson, defending, said: “This is a young man who has steered clear of trouble since 2008. There have been no other offences at all.”

Brown’s reason for not attending in October was a back injury sustained in a car crash, while he also has a hearing impairment and struggles with reading and writing, the judge was told.

“He does have difficulty communicating with other people,” Mr Atkinson added.

“Perhaps because of these reasons he has difficulty communicating with probation.”

Judge Moss said: “I cannot understand why being hard of hearing means you have to be abusive as well.”

Brown and his wife have been staying at his parents’ home in Cox Lane, and the judge made him subject to an electronically-monitored curfew order to be there between 9pm and 5am until February 8 next year. He will also have to pay £70 court costs.